Molecular Characterization of Epidemiology of MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from tuberculosis patients resistant to Ofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin

Introduction and Objectives: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is anescalating problem, particularly in the developing countries such as Iran. Continuous surveillance of drug resistance is required for effective management of TB patients. Materials and Methods: The susceptibility patterns of clinicalMycobacterium tuberculosis strains were retrospectively analyzed from April2012 to March2018. Identification and drug susceptibility testing (DST) were performed using conventional and molecular methods. Results: A total of 3012 clinical specimens were collected form TB suspected patients. Of them, 100 (3.3%) were culture positive and assigned as M. tuberculosis by phenotypic and molecular methods. According to DST, 62M. tuberculosisstrains were pan-susceptible and 38 were resistant to at least one anti-TB drug. Seventeenisolates were also assigned as MDR-TB. Conclusions:there wasa relatively high rate of MDR-TB in our study. Hence, improved diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB should be highly prioritized.

Keywords:

Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis , MDR , Iran